Driving from South Jersey to WDW

[rcow]

Hello All! We have a trip booked in the summer and are planning on taking i95 down (from NJ to WDW). Ideally, we’d like to do most of the drive on a Sunday and stay over in a hotel that night. Then we’d like to have only about a 2-3 hour drive on Monday to get to Disney.

-Any tips on what time to leave on Sunday? What would be the latest hour in the morning we could leave to avoid rush hour traffic?

-Any tips on affordable and safe area hotels to stay in off i95 so that we only have a 2-3 hour drive on Monday until we get to Disney?

Thanks in advance for any info and help!

 

[amcnj]

Well my help will be of limited value I guess. I usually leave early morning (by 2:30 am) and go straight through. I started this to avoid the DC morning rush hour and pass through that area at 5:30 AM.

You are leaving on a Sunday so not a typical workday for most. I guess there is still weekend/pleasure traffic and hopefully someone from that area can add in what times to avoid.

I believe I recall others saying the Brunswick Georgia area left them with only a few hours the second day. Since I go straight into FL the first day, I don’t have any hotel recommendations.l in that area.

There is a huge “2000+ mile round trip” thread a little further down here on the transportation board that may help.

 

[Lewisc]

Jacksonville to Lake Buena Vista is around 2.5 hours.

 

[RanDIZ]

Been driving from Philly for the past few years. 95S the whole way. Leave Philly at 9p usually on a Fri or Sat. I’ve done it numerous times in winter. Straight through no overnight stays. Only stopped twice. Can be done in 14-16hrs. Usually stop first in Kenly, NC truck stop. Really nice service area. We stop again in GA. Not bad at all. Arrive Orlando before noon. You should be fine on a Sunday.

 

[rwdavis2]

Even on a week end you will hit slowdowns around DC. Just not as bad as a weekday rush hour. I would leave as early as possible Sunday as the traffic in DC will be better in the morning. Sunday morning should be pretty clear.

 

[hmsTigger]

You'll be fine on a Sunday I would leave 7am to get thru DC before people wake up to enjoy the day No rush hour traffic is key! Jacksonville is just a little over 2 hrs to Orlando. Brunswick Georgia is little over 3 hrs to Orlando.
Southern Georgia is a good option in a Hampton Inn is where we usually stay right off of I-95 KIngsland Nice area and abt 3 hours to Orlando If you leave early Monday am you will miss the Jax traffic

 

[Leigh L]

Even on a week end you will hit slowdowns around DC. Just not as bad as a weekday rush hour. I would leave as early as possible Sunday as the traffic in DC will be better in the morning. Sunday morning should be pretty clear.

This!

Traffic in DC isn't too bad on the weekends here in the DC area right now since the pandemic, but we've noticed it has been steadily picking up. Summer it's hard to predict how it'll be, but I'd imagine increased travel will make it busier. If it goes to pre-pandemic, earlier through DC is definitely better, even on weekends. The worst place is going to be the Beltway (495) and a few other pockets. Get through there and should be smooth sailing with some potential pockets north and south of DC on I-95.

It takes me roughly 2.5 hours from Exit 1 (before the Delaware Bridge) to get home, but I live due west of DC. So I'm guessing to get around DC it'll take roughly about the same time.

 

[starwart]

If you stopover at St. Augustine for the night it will be about 3 hrs or less drive to WDW. Also, St. Augustine is a nice historic place to explore.

 

[scili]

Agree with the others. We live in South Jersey, near Philadelphia. We drove instead of flying twice last year. We left on a Sunday to go to FL both trips and found that it was best to leave no later than 5:30 am to try to minimize exposure to DC traffic. Entire trip would take around 14-16 hours. We found that traffic starts picking up more in the DC area around 7:30 am on a Sunday.

We stop at the Kenly, NC truck stop and then again in GA for short gas and bathroom breaks. We packed food in the car.

The first trip last year we stopped and stayed overnight on the way back to NJ around the halfway point at Springhill Suites in Lumberton, NC, which was pretty good, because we didn’t leave Disney until after lunch.

We ultimately found that driving straight through with 1-2 quick breaks for gas and bathroom stops was best for us so the second trip we didn’t stay overnight either way. Good luck driving and safe travels!

 

[hmsTigger]

All the years of driving to and from Orlando and have never stopped at Kenly. Usually stop southern Virginia and then again at the last exit before entering Florida. Good info and thanks for sharing.
Assume they have fuel services there as well as food and bathroom facilities.

 

[AnnaS]

My DH always wanted to leave (and we have the majority of the time) around 3 am from NY - not far from the Outerbridge. We would end up driving through many times but got there exhausted and we were shot for the next day.

Leaving around 8 am (no worries about traffic in DC), is nice. We stop around dinner time (6-8pm) for the night and relax. We like end of GA, St. Augustine or Jacksonville. Wake up 6/7 am and get to Disney within a few hours. The past few years, if we stop too late, we have found no rooms at the first hotel we check. Earlier has been better. I have booked a room about an hour before we get ready to stop with my phone. We like Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn.

I told DH I feel like a human being when we do it this way. What is the rush I always ask. We are not in our 30s, no hurry to get anywhere and have been to Disney a ton of times. Unless you hit the parks, relax by the pool, etc, your room won't be ready anywhere.

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

We like to stop in the Kingsland, GA area which is ~2.5-3 hours out. We usually stay at Hampton Inn when on the road but I think the Sleep Inn and Suites there is better reviewed and tends to be cheaper.

 

[disny_luvr]

We live just outside of Hershey, and when we drive to Disney, our favorite place to stop is Savannah, GA, but we love Savannah. We haven’t driven to Disney since 2018, but I believe it’s about 4 hours from Savannah to Disney.

 

[Leigh L]

Agree with the others. We live in South Jersey, near Philadelphia. We drove instead of flying twice last year. We left on a Sunday to go to FL both trips and found that it was best to leave no later than 5:30 am to try to minimize exposure to DC traffic. Entire trip would take around 14-16 hours. We found that traffic starts picking up more in the DC area around 7:30 am on a Sunday.

We stop at the Kenly, NC truck stop and then again in GA for short gas and bathroom breaks. We packed food in the car.

The first trip last year we stopped and stayed overnight on the way back to NJ around the halfway point at Springhill Suites in Lumberton, NC, which was pretty good, because we didn’t leave Disney until after lunch.

We ultimately found that driving straight through with 1-2 quick breaks for gas and bathroom stops was best for us so the second trip we didn’t stay overnight either way. Good luck driving and safe travels!

My DS and I stayed here on a ride down to Charleston in May 2019. Great stay and very nice hotel experience!

 

[rcow]

Thank you everyone for the responses and info!! Very helpful .